Since the end of World War II, most people in Oregon have had health insurance. For many years, cheap health insurance premiums made it easy for most businesses to give their employees free or nearly free health coverage.
Things are different now. Recent technological advances in medicine have sent prices through the roof. As a result, many Oregon employers can no longer afford to give their employees free health care. Instead, many have had to stop providing health care for their employees, cut back on it, or make them pay a lot to keep their coverage.
This has made it harder than ever for people and families in Oregon to find the best prices on health insurance.
If you are in this situation or know someone who is, you can take comfort in the fact that you are not completely powerless against the big insurance companies. There are things you can do to lower your health care costs while still protecting your family.
Start by looking online for the best prices you can find. Many websites make it easy for you to fill out a simple form with the coverage you and your family need. Then, with the click of a button, you can compare rates from different health care providers side by side.
But before you do that, take a moment to think about how much and what kinds of coverage your family really needs in a normal year. What are the most important parts of health coverage for you? Where do you think you'll need the most help with money in the next year?
You also need to ask yourself another tough question. How much can you save to pay for your own health care needs for the next year? If you know for sure that you can save $1,000, $500, or even $250 for the year, think about whether it makes sense to raise your health insurance deductible.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to lower the cost of your health insurance is to raise your deductible, or the amount you have to pay out of pocket before your insurance company starts paying for your health care.
Some policies let you choose between different co-payment amounts for different services. You can also help bring down the cost of your insurance by increasing your co-pay (the amount you pay each time you get that service) for services that you and your family don't use very often.
Obviously, if you smoke, you should quit, since people who don't smoke pay much less for health insurance. If you are overweight, losing weight and getting in shape can also help lower your monthly health care costs.
And, believe it or not, keeping your credit score in good shape can also affect how much you pay for health insurance with some companies.
The point is that you can do something. You can take steps to keep the costs of the health insurance you and your family need under control. The key is to compare policies from a variety of companies until you find the policy and company that works for you and your budget.
